Michigan faced negative media buzz with the onset of the financial crisis and economic downturn. This meant that Michigan Tourism had to fight this reputation to attract tourists from elsewhere in the U.S. View Summary

Michigan faced negative media buzz with the onset of the financial crisis and economic downturn. This meant that Michigan Tourism had to fight this reputation to attract tourists from elsewhere in the U.S. The campaign aimed to appeal consumers' emotions, highlighting the state's natural beauty and its distinctive character: "at once proud and personal, rugged and gracious, majestic and meaningful". Media use was skewed towards TV and radio. In its first year, the national campaign dramatically increased unaided awareness of Michigan as a place in the Midwest U.S. "you would really enjoy visiting".

2

Always Infinity: Magic

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Silver, Health and Personal Care, 2011

A campaign for Always Infinity, a sanitary pad that entered the market at a higher price point than rivals. View Summary

A campaign for Always Infinity, a sanitary pad that entered the market at a higher price point than rivals. Consumers therefore had to be convinced that the "new to the world technology" offered by the pad justified the price premium. The campaign employed extensive in market tracking - including quantitative reads on usage and awareness, shares, volumes, distribution, copy metrics and online buzz monitoring - which revealed early on that the campaign creative was not breaking through to some of the target audience. The new campaign included more information about the pad's benefits and a new call to action: "You've never used a pad like this. Guaranteed." The campaign employed TV and print elements, online search and in-store sampling and promotions.

Kimberly-Clark focused on social media for this campaign for Kotex, a feminine hygeine product. Initial research for the campaign was based around an online poll, which found that the vast majority were "embarrassed by their bodies and more specifically, menstruation". View Summary

Kimberly-Clark focused on social media for this campaign for Kotex, a feminine hygeine product. Initial research for the campaign was based around an online poll, which found that the vast majority were "embarrassed by their bodies and more specifically, menstruation". U by Kotex was positioned as an authentic voice and educational resource to drive mindshare and market share by building relevant, enduring emotional connections with young women. The brand's digital strategy integrated a three-platform approach: a branded website, primary social media platforms. The down-to-earth, factual creative broke norms established by rivals - describing menstruation through euphemism, and portraying women as "joyful, triumphant figures twirling in a field". Since the campaign launched, the branded website has experienced over 2.3 million visits with more than 1.2 million sample requests.

4

Microsoft: Cloud Power

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Gold, Business-To-Business, 2011

Microsoft, the US software giant, needed to clarify its commitment to the fast-growing, highly competitive world of service provision in the Cloud computing, in which services are provided on demand from distant virtual networks of computers rather than on the user's desktop or server. View Summary

Microsoft, the US software giant, needed to clarify its commitment to the fast-growing, highly competitive world of service provision in the Cloud computing, in which services are provided on demand from distant virtual networks of computers rather than on the user's desktop or server. Microsoft needed to understand the main barriers to adoption of its Cloud-based services, and to gain greater insight into the mindset of its target audience of IT decision-makers. Microsoft also wanted to be able to optimize its media and messaging mix during its Cloud campaigns. An extensive research programme fed into a two-stage communications campaign that aimed to affirm Microsoft's commitment to Cloud computing and to establish the company as a leader in this space. The resulting campaign featured a viral online video designed to educate and persuade decision-makers, a series of downloadable online white papers featuring influential commentators, and a number of PR and event initiatives created to amplify the company's paid-for media investments. The work was kicked off with a buzz and influencer seeding programme, followed by print executions and online videos. This case study cites results following the campaign such as improved leadership scores for Microsoft in this sector, and more than 300,000 downloads of white papers from its website.

5

Kraft Foods: Every Canadian Community Wants To Be a 'Kraft Hockeyville'

A long-running annual Kraft campaign that leverages three Canadian obsessions: food, ice hockey and community. The campaign (run via a partnership between Kraft, the NHL and CBC) is based around a competition in which communities nominate themselves as "Kraft Hockeyville" - "the place where hockey lives in Canada". Kraft gives the hockey arena of the winning community an upgrade worth C$100,000. The 2009 campaign was informed by various types of research, including a consumer tracking study and in-store shopper intercepts. The media mix was similarly varied: the launch of the microsite was publicised by TV spots broadcast on CBC, and buzz was amplified via social media and promotions run at NHL games. The winner was selected from the "top 12" communities on a one-hour TV show, also broadcast on CBC.

6

Powerade: Keep Playing

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Gold, Beverages, 2011

Powerade, the sports drink owned by Coca-Cola, the drinks group, needed a unified global positioning to reflect the fact that it was being sold in 80 countries. View Summary

Powerade, the sports drink owned by Coca-Cola, the drinks group, needed a unified global positioning to reflect the fact that it was being sold in 80 countries. However, the company needed to convince its local country managers to change what had been successful positionings in many of their countries. Working with Millward Brown, the communications research group, Powerade created a two-stage research programme: an initial segmentation of consumers in five european markets - Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK - was combined with the creation of a social media forum in which to test brand positioning concepts and learn more about consumers' motivations. Having identified seven consumer types, the brand established that the most important segment comprised "True Sportsmen". In a second-stage initiative, a social network for these True Sportsmen, was created in five countries: the USA, Mexico, Italy, the UK and Australia. In this interactive environment, various positioning concepts were tested and refined. These creative concepts were then used to form a global campaign around the FIFA Soccer World Cup that involved PR and seeding, and a variety of TV, print, outdoor, digital and experiential elements. This case study cites results from this approach that showed the campaign tested well, and was eventually activated in 20 different markets. During the period, Powerade grew its volume share and value share, as well as its reach in key markets.

A Progresso Soups campaign targeting Hispanic consumers. Research revealed Latinos view soup as a comfort food that is, ideally, homemade; however, pressures to cook from scratch fade with acculturation. Campbell's also had far higher brand recognition. So Progresso decided to highlight the brand's "family appeal" and "homemade taste" in its creative. Media-wise, investment focussed on Hispanic Network TV exposure. Following the campaign, Progresso's growth in the RTS category among Hispanics is outpacing total U.S. growth.

8

Arm & Hammer Cat Litter: Secret - Double Trouble

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Gold, Household Products, 2011

Double Duty Cat Litter was the number three brand in its category. This campaign aimed to boost share by highlighting the brand's odour neutralising properties. View Summary

Double Duty Cat Litter was the number three brand in its category. This campaign aimed to boost share by highlighting the brand's odour neutralising properties. Consumer attitudes towards cat odour were measured through a range of research techniques, including a two-week in-home trial, focus groups and in-depth ethnography interviews. Insights derived from this research led to the development of a campaign strategy: to shift responsibility from the consumer to the litter in controlling faeces odour - not just urine odour. Media spend was divided between TV, mass reach print title and websites popular among female cat owners aged 25 to 49 - the target audience. Following the launch of the campaign, Arm & Hammer attained the number two position in the clumping segment of the litter category.

9

Subaru of America: Subaru Owner Love

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Silver, Automotive, 2011

Car-maker Subaru was experiencing stagnant sales, a reduction in customer loyalty and a lack of consistency in its brand strategy. View Summary

Car-maker Subaru was experiencing stagnant sales, a reduction in customer loyalty and a lack of consistency in its brand strategy. In response, it decided to focus on being a niche specialist rather than its previous approach of trying to build a mass brand from the bottom up. In this new strategy, its marketing needed to support two objectives: to bring a collection of cars together under a coherent single idea, and to shift from having a product-centric focus to bonding emotionally with customers and prospects. This case study describes the brand's development in two stages: from 2007-8, Subaru and its agency, Carmichael Lynch, developed a "Love"-themed communications campaign; in the second stage, Harris Interactive, the research group, provided research initiatives to take the campaign further. During the research phase, multiple industry data sources and Subaru's own data found that the main reason buyers failed to consider Subaru was they felt no affinity towards the brand or, in some cases, had any strong views on Subaru at all. However, Subaru owners were often passionate advocates. The company decided to focus on why Subaru owners liked their cars in an attempt to rebuild loyalty and draw in new and curious shoppers.Further research uncovered other insights, and it was also recognised that Subaru suffered when its advertising was off-air or when its ad spend was stretched too thinly across diverse models. The company, which is owned by Fuji Heavy Industries, won backing from its parent for increased and more consistent media spending as a result of presenting these findings. This case study cites results following Subaru's strategic shift that include reported sales gains in 2008 and 2009, when the US car market was declining, and increases in Subaru's brand equity scores.

10

Toyota Venza: Are You Venza?

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Silver, Multicultural, 2011

Toyota was planning to launch its first crossover vehicle, the Venza, is what was becoming an increasingly crowded category. View Summary

Toyota was planning to launch its first crossover vehicle, the Venza, is what was becoming an increasingly crowded category. African American consumers were the specific target audience, and research revealed that many members of this demographic viewed the car they owned as a personal statement regarding their personality. More in-depth analysis identified a particularly attractive sub-segment, "Mixers", who were relatively affluent, had a unique style, and enjoyed defying convention. The resultant "Are You Venza?" campaign captured this kind of attitude across various media channels. Brand awareness, trial and purchase consideration scores were all impressive, and calendar year sales came in 14% above the target.

11

Ink from Chase: Inspiring Success: How Ink from Chase is Making its Mark

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Silver, Financial Services, 2011

This campaign built Ink, a new business credit card brand, "from the ground up". The campaign's approach was to position business owners themselves at the center and heart of the brand's research, ideas, and brand strategy. View Summary

This campaign built Ink, a new business credit card brand, "from the ground up". The campaign's approach was to position business owners themselves at the center and heart of the brand's research, ideas, and brand strategy. A wide array of techniques were employed to unearth fresh insights; there was a mix of both traditional and innovative research approaches – from segmentation to metaphors to online communities.

12

CBS Vision: Hawaii Five-0/Reboot

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Gold, Sports, Entertainment and Media, 2011

CBS, the U.S. broadcaster, decided to relaunch classic cop show Hawaii Five-0 for its 2010 schedule. View Summary

CBS, the U.S. broadcaster, decided to relaunch classic cop show Hawaii Five-0 for its 2010 schedule. Research (a series of focus groups, a dramatically enhanced/targeted method of on-air promo testing, panel studies, ongoing tracking, and quantitative and qualitative studies) revealed a strong consumer affinity with the original series' score. This led to the memorable music being incorporated throughout the creative - even leading to the launch of a competition for marching bands to see who could play the theme the best. CBS also struck a "takeover" deal with Yahoo! The new show's premiere outperformed the prior season time period average in both key adult demographics: +45% in A25-54 and +35% in A18-49.

13

Swiffer: Dysfunctional Relationships

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Silver, Household Products, 2011

The Swiffer range, owned by P&G, became highly successful in the U.S. following its launch in 1999. View Summary

The Swiffer range, owned by P&G, became highly successful in the U.S. following its launch in 1999. This campaign used extensive quantitative and qualitative segmentation research to increase sales still further. The campaign creative was hard hitting and based on "dysfunctional relationships" - comparing the excitement of starting a new relationship with someone who is better than a previous partner with faults with Swiffer's superiority and comparative strengths versus rival cleaning products. Swiffer was positioned as technologically more advanced than other brands, thereby justifying its price premium. The campaign has helped Swiffer deliver double digit 17% growth for the past four fiscal years.

14

Posted by AT&T and MTV Networks Music Sites

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Silver, Consumer Electronics, 2011

MTV, the music broadcaster, and AT&T, the telecommunications group, wanted to build on the success of a previous campaign, known as The Vault, based around the idea of "unlocking" archived popular content to consumers at different times. View Summary

MTV, the music broadcaster, and AT&T, the telecommunications group, wanted to build on the success of a previous campaign, known as The Vault, based around the idea of "unlocking" archived popular content to consumers at different times. Its successor campaign, Posted, involved a number of MTV music websites which featured a key posted artist of the month. The campaign also used social media sites to encourage sharing and conversation around the music of the Posted artists. In addition to tracking traffic across each individual MTV websites, activity was measured across all of the sites together. This case study cites results from the campaign including the number of Facebook impressions generated, the referral traffic created from Google and Twitter, and the extent to which Posted artists' content was shared across the web.

15

Cadbury Caramilk: Key to the Secret

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Gold, Packaged Goods, 2011

Caramilk, the Canadian confectionary brand, had won over generations of consumers with the long-running "Caramilk Secret" campaign. View Summary

Caramilk, the Canadian confectionary brand, had won over generations of consumers with the long-running "Caramilk Secret" campaign. This platform was conceived in the 1960s, but appeared increasingly outdated by the mid-2000s. As such, the decision was made to move away from this idea, and towards a category truth: that of indulgence. However, this did not have the desired result, as demand continued to decline. Research among brand "Adorers" and "Occasional users" showed a modified version of the "Secret" had the potential to reverse this trend, if executed in the right manner. To engage consumers in new ways, the "Key to the Secret" competition was launched, with ten golden keys hidden in bars, one of which unlocked the "Caramilk Secret". The winning consumer was paid $250,000 to protect the "Secret", receiving 50% upfront and 50% at the end of this period. Brand equity, PR coverage and sales all improved, particularly where consumers knew about the Caramilk Secret competition.

This campaign boosted awareness of autism, rates of which have been increasing in recent years. Autism Awareness used a long-term series of talks of mothers with young children to inform its campaign strategy. View Summary

This campaign boosted awareness of autism, rates of which have been increasing in recent years. Autism Awareness used a long-term series of talks of mothers with young children to inform its campaign strategy. The first part of the campaign featured ads which cited a statistic related to one of these dreams, like the likelihood that their child will become a professional baseball athlete (1 in 16,000) or top fashion designer (1 in 7,000), and compare it with the far more likely prospect of their child being diagnosed with autism (1 in 110). The next wave of ads used two celebrity spokespeople whose lives had been impacted by autism: singer Toni Braxton and golfer Ernie Els. Since the launch of the campaign, there has been a 38% rise in the awareness of messages about autism.

17

International Delight: CoffeeHouse Inspirations Skinny

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Silver, Beverages, 2011

This case study describes a campaign to create awareness and trial for the International Delight Coffee House Inspirations Skinny beverage among a target audience of health-conscious North American women interested in lifestyle topics. View Summary

This case study describes a campaign to create awareness and trial for the International Delight Coffee House Inspirations Skinny beverage among a target audience of health-conscious North American women interested in lifestyle topics. The communications campaign involved used a mixture of TV, magazine and online executions emphasising the product's low calorie content. The research element explains how Horizon Media, International Delight and Vizu Corporation worked together to establish whether the digital advertising in the campaign had improved brand lift metrics, and to change its campaign mix based on these findings. The partners employed Vizu's mixture of survey-based, concurrent test and control methods, in addition to tags which were appended to creative to track which consumers had been exposed to the advertising as well as the number, location and type of exposures that consumers had experienced. The resulting data allowed the companies to answer questions related to which ads to run, where to run them and how often. As a result of the approach, the companies were able to identify that some executions were improving key brand metrics more than others, and reallocated media impressions in their campaign to the best-performing creative work accordingly.This paper calculates that by applying the findings from its research, the brand experienced a 34% increase in effective media spend, that was estimated to be worth $100,000 over the lifetime of the campaign.

18

Audi: Shock the Sheep

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Gold, Automotive, 2011

Following six major launches in 2009, Audi of America faced the challenge of sustaining its sales growth and its brand consideration scores in 2010, a year when no launches were planned. View Summary

Following six major launches in 2009, Audi of America faced the challenge of sustaining its sales growth and its brand consideration scores in 2010, a year when no launches were planned. The automotive brand owner was especially worried by negative trends in studies of shopping intentions among target consumers since it believed that shopping intentions were correlated to future sales. In response to these developments, it formulated a campaign with three objectives: to reverse a downward trend in US respondents intending to buy Audis; to increase year-on-year visits to US Audi dealerships; and to maintain its sales growth. After having looked at syndicated research on US automotive markets, Audi executives discovered that at some point between six and three months before consumers actually purchased a new vehicle, Audi tended to see its brand consideration scores drop whereas BMW, Mercedes and Lexus all continued to have both higher and more consistent consideration scores than Audi among US buyers of luxury automotives. A follow-up research programme uncovered that luxury car buyers were strongly affected by a "herd" mentality that favoured the top selling brands and made them feel that other consumers had endorsed their own choices. Audi decided it needed to jolt the market's assumptions by highlighting unexpected facts about the brand such as that Audi was growing faster in the US than BMW, Mercedes or Lexus or that Audis retained their values better than other German luxury automotive brands. A communications campaign, timed to coincide with the 2010 Winter Olympics, highlighted these facts in broadcast spots and targeted online display banners. Audi dealerships also part-funded TV and radio spots with similar messages.This case study cites results from the campaign including a rise in Audi's share of luxury car purchasing intentions from 8.3% in the third quarter of 2009 to 12.5% by the third quarter of 2010, a 14% rise in footfall in Audi dealerships and a 22% year-on-year rise in Audi of America's sales.

19

The United Nations: Hopenhagen

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Silver, International, 2011

In late 2008, world leaders were due to meet in Copenhagen to discuss climate change. Against a backdrop of mounting evidence about the increasingly pressing need for action, the United Nations turned to advertising in a bid to secure popular support for efforts to address this crucial issue. View Summary

In late 2008, world leaders were due to meet in Copenhagen to discuss climate change. Against a backdrop of mounting evidence about the increasingly pressing need for action, the United Nations turned to advertising in a bid to secure popular support for efforts to address this crucial issue. In a 90-day period, and with no budget, the aim was to secure the support of 1 million people across the globe. In achieving this goal, the decision was made to refocus the issue less on the environment, and more on the opportunity to restore economic growth. The resultant "Hopenhagen" platform leveraged an online petition, hosted on a dedicated website, alongside building a sizeable Facebook presence. Corporate partners like Coca-Cola, SAP and Siemens also helped spread the word. Media coverage to a value of over $350 million was generated, and 6 million people lodged their support for the cause, some 70% of which had never joined a similar movement before.

20

Wheat Thins: Coming Alive with Real Crunch

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Gold, Digital and Media, 2011

The Wheat Thins brand benefitted from the three-point strategy discussed in this case study: 1) rebuild WT Marketing Foundations; 2) Develop a Salient Campaign that reconnects with our consumer on both an emotional and functional level; and 3) continuously direct and strengthen execution of the campaign. View Summary

The Wheat Thins brand benefitted from the three-point strategy discussed in this case study: 1) rebuild WT Marketing Foundations; 2) Develop a Salient Campaign that reconnects with our consumer on both an emotional and functional level; and 3) continuously direct and strengthen execution of the campaign. The research - including social listening and an online survey - revealed the need to change the brand's target audience from older women to young adults of both genders. Accordingly, the brand's media philosophy went from "mass" to "tribe" - incorporating a bigger social media element. In addition, more than five million product samples were given away at Wheat Thins-sponsored events in the strategy's first year.

21

2010 United States Census

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Research Achievement Winner and Gold, 2011

The US Census happens once a decade and Americans are legally required to participate. However, return rates were in a long-term decline. View Summary

The US Census happens once a decade and Americans are legally required to participate. However, return rates were in a long-term decline. In 2000, the Government used paid media to encourage citizens to fill in the questionnaire for the first time. In 2010, this approach faced even greater challenges, combining the need to reach a highly diverse populace with an increasingly fragmented media environment. It was decided to use a call-to-action approach, which refocused the message away from the US Census and towards being "Our Census". Unique messages were created for various consumer segments - such as the "head nodders", "insulated" and "unacquainted" - while pre-testing was deployed to ensure 400 pieces of creative, in 28 languages, made an impact in the market. Real-time tracking was then employed to reshape strategy after the campaign had begun. Public awareness reached almost 100%, mail participation rose by seven percentage points, to 74%, and the campaign paid for itself more than five times over.

22

Fidelity Investments: The Green Line

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Gold, Financial Services, 2011

Fidelity Investments' Green Line Campaign leveraged the financial crisis-driven trend towards previously self-directed investors preferring to discuss and validate their investment ideas with a trusted professional before making investment decisions. View Summary

Fidelity Investments' Green Line Campaign leveraged the financial crisis-driven trend towards previously self-directed investors preferring to discuss and validate their investment ideas with a trusted professional before making investment decisions. In-depth research led to the development of a new brand idea: "With Fidelity, you get a financial partner who can help you at every stage of your life. You'll have the people, recommendations, and investments you need to get on track and stay there — today and throughout your life." This in turn informed the campaign's creative - in which the brand was personified as a GPS system - providing guidance, and aiding navigation. Among the results of the campaign were increases in unaided advertising and brand awareness, and in the number of customers receiving guidance from Fidelity.

23

Kayak.com: Search One and Done

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Silver, Retail and E-Tail, 2011

Discussion of a campaign from KAYAK.com, a travel portal incorporating a search engine. The campaign aimed to raise awareness of the site and boost customer loyalty by differentiating the brand from its rivals. View Summary

Discussion of a campaign from KAYAK.com, a travel portal incorporating a search engine. The campaign aimed to raise awareness of the site and boost customer loyalty by differentiating the brand from its rivals. Research revealed that people search multiple sites as they have no faith that any one will deliver them what they need, that there is awareness of some brands but little understanding of the promise behind them. Testing revealed the tagline "Search One & Done" was "stickier" than the alternatives. This informed the development of an integrated campaign, featuring humourous creative based around people taking holidays; media used included TV, online and outdoor. A year after the campaign launch, brand awareness of KAYAK.com increased by a factor of 79 - meanwhile usage doubled.

TV Land, a channel previously devoted to repeats of old shows, decided to launch its first-ever original sitcom - Hot in Cleveland - starring ex-Golden Girl Betty White. A major aim of the campaign was to attract new, younger, viewers. Research was based around an online survey of 500 adults aged 30-49; results indicated that the show's cast, "traditional" format and "mature themes" were attractive to the target audience. The cohort is also "very social" about TV shows - sharing recommendations with friends and colleagures. So the campaign incorporated a big social media element, with specially-shot videos of cast members reacting to contemporary events. Hot in Cleveland was the highest cable sitcom premiere ever with nearly 6m total viewers.

25

Diamonds by DeBeers: Forevermark

Includes video content

Recommended by Warc editors

Trends

Best Practice

ARF Ogilvy Awards, Gold, International, 2011

This De Beers campaign presented a "new kind of bride" to the Indian consumer. Research revealed that, traditionally, gold is favoured over diamonds in Indian weddings. View Summary

This De Beers campaign presented a "new kind of bride" to the Indian consumer. Research revealed that, traditionally, gold is favoured over diamonds in Indian weddings. So the campaign's creative promoted the "Diamond Bride". This change leveraged changes in society - where previously parents had taken all the major decisions about their daughter's wedding, the daughter was now taking on more responsibility. So the campaign "talked to the bride", rather than to parents; choosing diamonds rather than gold was presented as choosing modernity instead of tradition. The campaign incorporated celebrity branding - three popular fashion designers were signed up as advocates - PR and a TV commercial.